Italian Driving Etiquette
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By Dion Protani
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Latest update: 20 October 2023
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It may be described as a contradiction of terms to create a page titled Italian Driving Etiquette because there are many occasions when you feel any sense of good manners has been left at home!
Of course, there are good and bad drivers wherever you go in the world and the purpose of this article is to gain a better understanding of what happens on Italian roads. There are various topics that can be the cause of distress such as the famous flashing lights, the confusing ZTL areas and just what you're supposed to do when you reach a toll booth. There's also a link to a page where you can work out the cost of your journeys. |
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Related links
Meaning of flashing lights
One of the most dangerous aspects of driving in Italy is the significance of someone flashing their lights at you. In the United Kingdom for example, when somebody flashes their light at you in generally means they're letting you go ahead of them. It's the exact opposite in Italy: when someone flashes their light at you, they're saying "I'M COMING THROUGH, GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
I've gone for the capital letter option to emphasise that point as it's an aggressive gesture used by very poor drivers. The worst time that it happens is when you're on the motorway: you could be safely passing a car by using the overtaking lane but the driver behind you thinks you're doing it too slowly and gets right on your bumper to encourage you to go faster, all the while flashing their lights. It's possibly the worst thing about the Italian culture that this practice is accepted and never questioned.
Whilst it may be tempting to "brake test" the aggressive driver behind you or to speed up yourself, neither of these courses of action are acceptable or safe. When you get the aggressive driver on your bumper, you just need to keep your composure and continue the manoeuvre you were carrying out in your own time before moving across to the inside lane once it's safe to do so.
One of the most dangerous aspects of driving in Italy is the significance of someone flashing their lights at you. In the United Kingdom for example, when somebody flashes their light at you in generally means they're letting you go ahead of them. It's the exact opposite in Italy: when someone flashes their light at you, they're saying "I'M COMING THROUGH, GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
I've gone for the capital letter option to emphasise that point as it's an aggressive gesture used by very poor drivers. The worst time that it happens is when you're on the motorway: you could be safely passing a car by using the overtaking lane but the driver behind you thinks you're doing it too slowly and gets right on your bumper to encourage you to go faster, all the while flashing their lights. It's possibly the worst thing about the Italian culture that this practice is accepted and never questioned.
Whilst it may be tempting to "brake test" the aggressive driver behind you or to speed up yourself, neither of these courses of action are acceptable or safe. When you get the aggressive driver on your bumper, you just need to keep your composure and continue the manoeuvre you were carrying out in your own time before moving across to the inside lane once it's safe to do so.
ZTL
The acronym ZTL stands for Zona Traffico Limitato and can cause a good deal of distress if approached in the wrong way. If you enter a ZTL at the wrong time, you will almost certainly pick up a fine. Those fines can take years to come through but they generally do arrive if you're found to have carried out the infringement.
Where the ZTLs cause distress is that the times when they are active (i.e. you can't enter them), are not always obvious. Those times are obvious to the people that live in the area but if you're driving into a town, have a line of cars behind you and are suddenly presented with a ZTL sign (a red circle on a white background), you may be too far away to read the times written underneath or not have enough time to react when you're close enough to see them.
If you have any doubt whatsoever if a ZTL is active, find a place to safely pull over, walk up to the sign and read it. If you don't speak Italian or the sign is confusing in any way, you can ask a passer by or just avoid the area completely if the answer isn't forthcoming.
The acronym ZTL stands for Zona Traffico Limitato and can cause a good deal of distress if approached in the wrong way. If you enter a ZTL at the wrong time, you will almost certainly pick up a fine. Those fines can take years to come through but they generally do arrive if you're found to have carried out the infringement.
Where the ZTLs cause distress is that the times when they are active (i.e. you can't enter them), are not always obvious. Those times are obvious to the people that live in the area but if you're driving into a town, have a line of cars behind you and are suddenly presented with a ZTL sign (a red circle on a white background), you may be too far away to read the times written underneath or not have enough time to react when you're close enough to see them.
If you have any doubt whatsoever if a ZTL is active, find a place to safely pull over, walk up to the sign and read it. If you don't speak Italian or the sign is confusing in any way, you can ask a passer by or just avoid the area completely if the answer isn't forthcoming.
Toll booths
Most of the Italian motorway network operates a system of payment that we typically know as a toll. The word for this in Italian is pedaggio but it's sometimes referred to with the French term peage.
Generally-speaking, the toll booths work very well: as you enter a motorway you stop and collect a ticket at the barrier, then when you exit the motorway you'll reach a toll booth where you can enter your ticket into the machine and be presented with the price.
Most toll booths are operated by a machine, and as you approach the payment area you'll often find a number of signs indicating whether or not that booth is manned, accepts cash or cards.
Once you enter your ticket into the machine, the price comes up on the display and you then enter your payment card into the same slot. In most cases, you don't have to enter your PIN, it all happens quite quickly and your card is offered back to you. At that stage the barrier will open and you can be on your way again.
Most of the Italian motorway network operates a system of payment that we typically know as a toll. The word for this in Italian is pedaggio but it's sometimes referred to with the French term peage.
Generally-speaking, the toll booths work very well: as you enter a motorway you stop and collect a ticket at the barrier, then when you exit the motorway you'll reach a toll booth where you can enter your ticket into the machine and be presented with the price.
Most toll booths are operated by a machine, and as you approach the payment area you'll often find a number of signs indicating whether or not that booth is manned, accepts cash or cards.
Once you enter your ticket into the machine, the price comes up on the display and you then enter your payment card into the same slot. In most cases, you don't have to enter your PIN, it all happens quite quickly and your card is offered back to you. At that stage the barrier will open and you can be on your way again.
Italy Toll Calculator
There are a number of ways by which you can work out the total cost for your journey. The Google map provides various check boxes that allow you to avoid toll charges or to select the fastest route. At the time of writing it doesn't provide accurate costs for the toll booths so a good alternative is the Toll Guru cost calculator which is linked below via the green button.
Using the Toll Guru calculator you can get a read out of fuel costs relevant to your make and model of vehicles as well as an assessment of any tolls that may apply on your journey.
Using the Toll Guru calculator you can get a read out of fuel costs relevant to your make and model of vehicles as well as an assessment of any tolls that may apply on your journey.
Parking a car in Italy
It's important to understand the significance of the different colours on Italian parking bays. If there are white lines around the bay this means it's free to park in that space but don't assume you can park there forever. In most cases, the free/white line parking spaces are time-limited and this is usually displayed on a sign somewhere.
Most Italians carry around a car parking time disc with them; these are used when you park in a bay. You then just adjust the clock on the display to show the time of your arrival so that when a parking inspector comes along, they will see exactly how long you've been there.
Parking spaces with blue lines usually mean you have to pay and there will be a parking meter close by. It's often the case that you have to enter your car registration number first and it's best to have some loose change handy in order to use the machines. They are becoming more sophisticated, allowing things such as phone/text payment but they are often fiddly and require some patience.
Just because the lines are blue however, doesn't mean you always have to pay; if you check the nearby signs you'll see most blue parking bays are active only at certain times and on certain dates.
If you see bays painted with other colours it's most likely they won't be available to you. A typical example of this are the bays with yellow stripes which are for residents only and require a permit.
Most Italians carry around a car parking time disc with them; these are used when you park in a bay. You then just adjust the clock on the display to show the time of your arrival so that when a parking inspector comes along, they will see exactly how long you've been there.
Parking spaces with blue lines usually mean you have to pay and there will be a parking meter close by. It's often the case that you have to enter your car registration number first and it's best to have some loose change handy in order to use the machines. They are becoming more sophisticated, allowing things such as phone/text payment but they are often fiddly and require some patience.
Just because the lines are blue however, doesn't mean you always have to pay; if you check the nearby signs you'll see most blue parking bays are active only at certain times and on certain dates.
If you see bays painted with other colours it's most likely they won't be available to you. A typical example of this are the bays with yellow stripes which are for residents only and require a permit.
